Archive for December, 2016

(( Just to preface, this is merely my opinion, and not reflective of any position of responsibility or authority. I don’t work for EVE and I am not the boss of you. 😛 ))

Don’t forget to take more bio breaks! It is a scientific fact that females pee more often than men. (true story, I googled) So this means, when you plan your hours-long fleets, you need to pull the fleet over at a rest stop! Girl’s don’t have the luxury of peeing in a bottle at the pc, ok???

Don’t assume the girl is going to fly Logi. Sometimes I feel like there’s this misconception that all females are nurturing, and that they want to ‘take care of the fleet’ by ‘space healing’ it. Yes, some of us like to fly logi from time to time, but I don’t think it is any more than the guys. Sometimes we just want to blow shit up too, ya know? So ask, don’t assume.

Don’t allow your fleet to become a cesspool of porn talk. Some people on EVE act like fleets and porn go together like peanut butter and jelly, but it shouldn’t always be that way. I know that ‘guys will be guys’, but sometimes it’s just too much. When the talk goes from locker-room talk to talk about raping girls (yes, I was in a fleet once where that was literally ignored by the FC), then it goes too far. But in this regards, every player is different, and their threshold for what is okay varies, even among the guys. Some guys don’t want that kind of talk/porn links either because their wives/small children might be hovering near by.

Don’t use your fleets to flirt. I know I shouldn’t even have to say that one, but, it happens. I once joined a random, general militia fleet (years ago, back in the day) where I didn’t know anyone in fleet. The guys were nice, but the FC (who had been drinking, I think) literally stopped the fleet to chat me up. It was awkward, lol.

Don’t let your other pilots harass girls in your fleet. (or anyone for that matter) Again, every player is different, and their threshold will vary. Some girls can brush off locker-room banter, but if it is outright harassment directed towards the girl merely because she is a girl, then you should probably do something about it. Don’t let others say, ‘Oh you’re just being a White Knight’. There is a difference between White-Knighting and being a decent human being.

DON’T think you’re a special snowflake. Sure, you’re a female in a game with one billion guys (roughly 96%), but that doesn’t inherently make you any kinds of special.

DON’T use your womanly powers to get free stuff on the game. When you manipulate boys into giving you free ships/mods/ISK, just because you have boobs, you make the rest of girl gamers look bad. Put on your big girl panties and learn how to make ISK for yourself. Be a strong, independent pilot who don’t need no man!

DON’T think that if someone does give you something free, it’s because you are a girl. Lots of times, guys will give each other ships for various reasons. It isn’t because of gender. There are a lot of genuinely nice folks on EVE who will share the wealth.

DON’T play to a stereotype. There’s no need to play dumb or act all slutty. It is a game about spaceships, not hookers in space. Ugh, and please don’t be that girl who streams the game merely to show off your tits and ass. Nobody likes an attention whore.

DON’T bring your dating drama into the game. Okay, I was going to say, ‘don’t date EVE boys’, but some of you single girls are going to do it anyhow. (and sometimes it does work out for some couples) But do keep it private. No need to have your relationship be the main focus of your corporation or alliance, because if you break up, you’re forcing the people you fly with to deal with your angsty crap. Again, people are here to play a game about spaceships, not be awkwardly drawn into your Space-Brangelina drama.

DON’T be afraid to stand up for yourself. There are so many great guys in EVE, but there are some real douche bags too (it’s part of the Internet, no place is completely without them). Some guys will hate on you simply because you are female, and go out of their way to make things hard for you. If you find yourself harassed, you have several ways to handle it. If they are within your corporation or alliance, immediately report it to those in charge. It is their job on the game to deal with issues, it’s what they signed up for. If they are in a different corp/alliance, send a polite mail to their CEO/Alliance Executor. Use the block button, it is very easy to do. Right click their name and choose block. If they are in a chat channel with you, then report it to the channel moderator. Lastly, report it to CCP. From the CCP EULA: You may not use any abusive, defamatory, ethnically or racially offensive, harassing, harmful, hateful, obscene, offensive, sexually explicit, threatening or vulgar language. (Alternate spelling or partial masking of such words will be reprimanded in the same manner as the actual use of such words.) To make a report, click on the ? on your sidebar in game. It will give you a link to the Help Center out of game, and you can file a report under the EULA, TOS, POLICIES section. It simply isn’t okay to be bullied or harassed because you’re female.

DON’T think all smack talk is offensive. You have to have a thicker skin to play EVE. Coming into this game, you need to realize that it is a very dark atmosphere with an unforgiving environment. You’ll have to learn the difference between normal smack and someone deliberately trying to harass you because of your gender.

DON’T think that other girls are automatically going to be your new BFF. But some might. If you’re seeking to bond with other female gamers, there are two female-only channels. Visit the in-game channels, Women Gamers Public, or WGoE:Public. Just remember, not everyone can be a Space Pirate Queen like Mynxee or EvE’s Parody Queen, Sindel Pellion, so check your jealousy at the door.

DON’T settle for a bad corp. Take the time to find one that is going to suit your play style and have an atmosphere that you are comfortable with. You don’t have to settle for corp chat / fleet chats full of porn links and immature behavior. To find corps, you can always browse the EvE Online Recruitment Forums.

DON’T be timid or shy on voice comms. Yes, the majority of pilots on comms are going to be guys. Yes, they are going to collectively gasp the first time you speak. There will probably be comments like, “OMG a GURL”. And that’s ok. Let them get it out of their system.

DON’T give up! The game has a steep learning curve, and it might seem impossible to learn all the things when you’re just starting out, but know that it does get easier in time, and not everyone knows every little thing anyhow. If you don’t know something, it is okay to ask for help.

*dusts off the old blog, sending a plume of digital dust mites dancing into the hazy light of pixels*

So, it has been a while, and I will not apologize and say I have meant to write, (because that is what everyone says who finally gets back to their blog), or that a million real life things have gotten in the way (another famous blogging excuse).

Okay, well those things are true, I suppose. I really did mean to write. And real life did get super crazy. But the main reason I haven’t blogged is because I was addicted to another game. It happens, right? We are gamers, and other games do steal our attention from time to time. I am sure to write about it at some point, because there are a lot of comparisons to be made between the two games.

But, I never really quit playing EVE. Does anyone? I mean, even when you’re not playing, you’re still ‘playing’ in a sense. I never made a conscience decision to quit. I merely got distracted.

The biggest change on my return is that I don’t have my old character. I gave Shalee Lianne to my friend so that he can train her to be a super pilot character.

I’ve been playing on a former alt, Elisen. This toon is small skill wise, but with the skill injectors, I’ve managed to make her into a decent FW pilot. I’m loving skill injectors, that is the best thing CCP has done in a long while.

At any rate, it is fun to be back. I’ve missed spaceships. There really is no other game like EVE.

Since my return, I’ve moved back to Low Sec & FW. I gave null a shot, but I don’t think I could have ever been truly happy in Null. It was so different than what I was used to. Null Sec is super serious! And I’m more of a ‘whats that mod do again?’ kind of player, lol.

I also hate bubbles. Like, I passionately, f’n hate bubbles. The rage is real. I mean, one minute you’re flying along, and then bam! Bubble in your face. Everything is in slow motion. Or a gate is smothered with them and it is blinding. I just don’t need that kind of stress in my life, okay?

Bigger is better in Null. They like to fly expensive, blingy stuff, which is ok, to each their own. But when something very expensive is on the field, it seems like everything is more serious! People want to yell. I don’t let people yell at me IRL, I’m certainly not going to deal with that on a game because I didn’t hear someone say align. Sheesh.

The introduction of Entosis. ♫The ship on the button goes round and round, round and round, round and round.♫ I did enough of that in FW.

Everything was far, far away. When I was in FW and we planned to go 20 jumps somewhere, it was a thing. A whole big drama. We would make plans, jump some ships nearby for reshipping, etc. 20 jumps was like going to the end of the world. In Null, it was nothing to join a fleet and hear an announcement we were going one billion jumps away. When you join a fleet, it is a time commitment.

Deployments are the norm, and I am too much of a space hoarder to move so often. I like to have a lot of things, okay? And there would be times we’d move move while I was out of town or something. Do you even know how unnerving it is to go away for a weekend, come home to EVE and log into station and be the only one there! I’d be like…uhm, guys? I’m aloneeeee. And of course there would be bubbles between where I was and where I needed to be, lols.

It was too much of a commitment. When not on EVE, I don’t want to be hassled by various apps telling me that I need to be on EVE. If I am on the game, then great, I’ll play it. But if I am not there, I don’t want to be sent pings about how I need to be. You know? I don’t want to schedule my time around pings, required fleets, or when some structure is going to be vulnerable. It stops being a game and feels more like work.

But it wasn’t all bad. I did enjoy most of my time in Null. I had a really amazing corp to fly with. Those guys were pros, and I adored my CEO/FC (Garst Tyrell). He is an amazing FC to fly under (wish he would move to Low Sec!!!).

It’s just that Null didn’t really suit my play-style, or my stress level. I am more of a casual gamer, even if I play a lot, I don’t play it hardcore. The things that matter most in Null are things that matter little to me.

So, I’m back where I belong, slumming around in Low Sec with dirty pirates and hunting down dirty Minmatar. Life is great.

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Sovereignty Wars

Character: Elisen

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